He'll love playing with Mbeumo: £70m CF now keen on signing for Man Utd
da 888： Manchester United have finally announced the signing of Bryan Mbeumo, with a £71m deal agreed, finally, on Friday.
da premier bet： Weeks of negotiating had cast a grey cloud over the exciting transfer, with doubts beginning to creep in as to whether the Cameroonian would actually be plying his trade as a Red Devil next season.
Mbeumo, 25, is one of the Premier League’s most talented and prolific forwards, posting 20 goals across 38 matches last season. The likes of Arsenal, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur all registered their interest, but it was Old Trafford that Mbeumo’s heart was set on.
With Matheus Cunha on the opposite flank, the right-sided forward may well wreak havoc under Ruben Amorim’s wing next year, in a new-look United frontline tasked with leading the revival.
However, a new striker is still required.
Man United's need for a new a striker
Rasmus Hojlund appears committed to the United cause. Amorim needs, truly needs, to ensure that an upgrade is signed this summer, even if the 22-year-old remains in the first-team squad.
This wouldn’t actually be the worst thing in the world, for it would package some depth while easing Hojlund’s weight of responsibility, perhaps allowing him to work on his weaker points.
But United need a new centre-forward all the same.
According to Football Transfers, that man might be Nicolas Jackson, who is open to swapping Chelsea for United.
That follows positive talks between Jason Wilcox and the player’s representatives, with discussions still ongoing over personal terms for Jackson.
Chelsea have lowered their exorbitant £100m asking price to £70m; however it’s likely that United will still seek to whittle that figure down.
What Nicolas Jackson would bring to Man United
The duality of Jackson. At times, a rip-roaring, barnstorming menace of a striker; at other points, wasteful and lacking authority at number nine.
However, 24 goals and ten assists across two Premier League seasons is nothing to be sniffed at, especially when considering that only 59 of his 65 fixtures have come from the outset.
Jackson tapered off across the second half of the 2024/25 campaign, but he posted nine goals and three assists across his opening 15 league games, thus proving that with some more consistency, he could become one of the leading goalscorers competing in England.
Nicolas Jackson – League Stats by Season (past five years)
Season
Apps (starts)
Goals
Assists
24/25 – Chelsea
30 (28)
10
5
23/24 – Chelsea
35 (31)
14
5
22/23 – Villarreal
26 (16)
12
4
21/22 – Villarreal
9 (0)
1
0
Data via Transfermarkt
And partnered with someone like Mbeumo in United’s frontline, he could finally reach the level that his natural talent suggests is attainable.
Mbeumo is chiefly a deadly goalscorer, but he’s also a robust athletic profile and a creative presence besides.
As per Sofascore, he created a whopping 17 big chances in the Premier League last season, averaging 1.8 key passes per game.
In this way, he could be perfect for Jackson, feeding the Senegalese star balls while maintaining his own top-class goalscoring threat.
And Jackson, who has been hailed in the past as a “special” striker by journalist Rahman Osman, is hardly one-note himself, ranked among the top 17% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues last year for progressive carries and the top 22% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref.
Ultimately, this would be a calculated risk from INEOS for a talented striker who has yet to bring it all together and sustain it in the English game.
But with Mbeumo partnering him up top (and Cunha too), Jackson might just prove to be an astute signing for a resurgent Man United side.
Related Bigger star than Mbeumo: Man Utd discussing £78m move to sign "new Haaland"
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim wants to sign an upgrade on Rasmus Hojlund.
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